


Time Adventure

by starziee



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Based on a song, Coming Out, Cuddling, Dream Smp, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, If You Squint - Freeform, In a way, Karl Jacobs-centric, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Song: Time Adventure, Soulmates, Tales Of The SMP, do you see the issue with these tags, ehhhhh a little, for half a minute, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29788455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starziee/pseuds/starziee
Summary: It happens slowly. So slowly, that between an ever changing schedule, too much caffeine, and too little sleep, Karl doesn’t even realize it’s happening.It finally hits him, late one night, when he hears Sapnap laugh loudly on stream while he’s brushing his teeth.Karl Jacobs chokes on his toothpaste.--Or, Karl realizes he's fallen in love with his best friend. (It might not be the first time that it's happened).
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 26
Kudos: 244





	Time Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic, so let's get on into it! its based off of the song "time adventure" by rebecca sugar, which you should definitely listen to! it really ties in with karl's dsmp lore character. 
> 
> i think some of the direct quotations from tales might be a little off, so don't let it trip you up. 
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy! :D
> 
> edit: thank you guys for 100 kudos!! thats really cool i appreciate y'all

**_Time is an illusion that helps things make sense,_ **

It happens slowly. So slowly, that between an ever changing schedule, too much caffeine, and too little sleep, Karl doesn’t even realize it’s happening. 

It finally hits him, late one night, when he hears Sapnap loudly laugh on stream while he’s brushing his teeth. 

Karl Jacobs chokes on his toothpaste. He’s not in the call at least, thank Jesus. 

The realization feels like a shock to his system, a clarification of months of interactions. Because he just heard Sapnap’s laugh, echoing from his phone speakers, and he feels _giddy_. Goddammit. 

As Karl puts on his pajamas, he catches himself smiling listening to Sapnap ramble about moving up a rank in the game he’s playing. It's embarrassing on two levels: one, that he hasn’t realized he’s been acting like this; two, that he’s been _acting like this_. Smiling to himself over his friend talking about a game that Karl doesn’t even play. Jesus. 

It’s when he’s in bed that it hits him in full force: it’s a crush.

Thoughts are spinning around in his chest while he’s rapidly trying to ignore the growing warmth in his chest and the growing anxiety in his stomach. 

His ringtone pulls him out of the impending anxiety attack. 

It’s Sapnap, of course, calling. For their sleep call. That they have most nights. 

Karl is starting to think that he needs to stop drinking Monster, or something. Something is clearly inhibiting his ability to think.

He answers the call, impressively only getting mildly nauseous. 

“Hey, did you watch the stream?” Sapnap’s tired voice rings out into the dark room. He sounds comfortable and relaxed, which is the polar opposite of what Karl is feeling. 

Karl swallows the emotions that threaten to come up. “Yeah, yeah, dude. I like the alt streams. They’re chill.” He squeezes his eyes shut at the sound of his own voice, feeling like the shift is so evident, so crystal clear. 

“Me too, dude. They’re so much freer, you know? I always get scared about numbers and stuff on the main. But with this, I can just fuck around. Donos are weird sometimes, but not as bad as yours.”

If his voice sounds different, Sapnap can’t tell. Karl’s body relaxes, his breath slowing a little. 

“Yeah, yeah. They’re a complete disaster, but there's less people to impress and I just have to watch marbles race. A pretty good gig, right?”

Sapnap laughs lightly, and Karl is lit on fire. 

“Dude, such a good gig. We’re so lucky it’s insane.”

_We are pretty lucky_ , Karl thinks to himself, _in many, many ways_. 

They talk for a little longer about this and that, before deciding it’s time to turn in for the night. Which, Karl remembers, means staying in call while they sleep. He wonders if normal friends even do this together, or if he unknowingly crossed some sort of line a long time ago. He's not sure, he decides. Maybe computers really do rot your brain.

“Karl?” Sapnap’s voice sounds farther away now; maybe his phone is on the other side of the sheets. Karl tries to stop thinking of him in bed. 

He grunts in response. 

“You sounded stressed earlier, man,” Sapnap continues softly, “and I wanted to remind you that whatever it is, it’s okay. Always will be.”

And that’s when Karl Jacobs realizes fully how far this crush goes. Because Sapnap is like this: straightforward and honest, kind and caring, light and unabashedly himself. And he has an ability to simplify everything for Karl, to bring him down to a singularity. 

It’s okay. Always will be. 

Karl falls asleep listening to his friend’s even breathing, relaxing into his newly realized feelings. Because if Sapnap tells him it’ll be okay, he’ll believe him. 

  
  


**_So we’re always living in the present tense,_ **

“Thanks for letting me stay.”

It’s been two months since Karl Jacob’s realization, and now Sapnap is standing in his living room. He’s shorter than Karl, but firmer and stronger, and his cheeks are permanently dusted with pink. Karl would like to kiss them, he thinks.

Karl is desperately trying not to think too many thoughts like that. 

So, he says: “Of course, man. I’m excited for it. You can drop your stuff off in the spare room. Down the hall to the right.”

Sapnap is staying for a week; it’s his spring break. Karl isn’t sure why he thought this was a particularly good idea, but when the other man mentioned a visit, he couldn’t refuse. 

So now, a Texan is shuffling around in his spare room, and Karl is thinking of ways he can get through the next seven days without accidentally telling his best friend he likes him _a lot_. 

The first day and night go off without a hitch. The second day is good as well. Of course, Karl feels like he’s going to throw up from stress sometimes, but how could he not, considering the circumstances? It doesn’t help that Sapnap is so much more in person. He’s uninhibited, comfortable laughing loudly and sharing revealing stories. He’s soft in the smaller moments as well, padding around during their down time in his socks, humming songs quietly. He’s so _himself_ that sometimes Karl envies him. Always honest, always kind. 

On the second night, they decide to watch one of Sapnap’s animes. Halfway through the episode, Sapnap’s phone rings.

“Oh, is that your girlfriend? You got somebody on the side?” Karl says before he can stop himself, trying to joke but the fear is creeping into his voice. He immediately feels stupid for saying it—the call could very well be from one of their friends—but it’s already out there and hanging in the air. 

“No, dude,” Sapnap laughs, easy as ever, and shuts his phone off. 

They sit in silence for the next couple of minutes before Sapnap says:  
  


“There’s no girls, at all, actually.”

Karl goes rigid in his place on the couch. He finally gets the strength to look over at his friend, whose brown doe eyes are just as gorgeous as always. Which is not helpful right now. 

“Hm? Well, you know, nothing wrong with a dry spell. Kind of awkward for you, though,” Karl says, but his voice is uncertain and pitchy. This is embarrassing. 

Sapnap inhales, and then replies, “No, dude, I mean _at all_. I mean I don’t really, uh, do girls.”

In that moment, Karl thinks Sapnap is the bravest person he knows.

He swallows, and tries to be brave for him too.

“I don’t really either,” Karl says quickly and quietly. The words hang in the air for a moment, until Sapnap smiles and chuckles. 

“Cool. Do you wanna skip to the next episode? This one’s boring anyways.”

And just like that, everything is as normal as it can be. You know, despite the fact that they both just came out. But it was easy with Sapnap, and Karl feels calm now on the other end of the couch.

His calm lasts until two episodes later, when he realizes because of their confessions, he has a _chance_.

Karl barely sleeps that night, knowing that his best friend is sleeping two doors down and is suddenly, apparently, available. A more mild concern in the back of Karl’s brain is that his undereyes are going to be dark due to the lack of sleep, which isn’t as attractive. It’s kind of silly, he knows, but there’s a _chance_. And Karl is suddenly an optimist. 

He spends time on his outfit on the third day, claiming that they’ve got something planned. 

He has absolutely nothing planned.

But he does have half baked ideas and a pretty good feel for what makes a good time, so they go to a late breakfast at a local diner. Karl is too nervous to offer to pick up the tab in full, and Sapnap looks at him like he knows. 

It's okay. Always will be. 

Sapnap’s words from months ago ring around in Karl’s head from time to time, and right now they’re the thing spurring him on the most. 

They take a walk in the park. The air is heating up, the sun beaming down and coating their surroundings in its light. Karl studies Sapnap as they walk along, talking about stream schedules, lore plans, upcoming games, and everything in between. He feels calmer now, although his anxiety is bubbling under the surface quietly. 

But Sapnap has made Karl Jacobs a braver man. 

So, all of a sudden, Karl takes his hand. Open and honest. 

Sapnap stops talking for a moment, smiling up at Karl. He intertwines his fingers in the other man’s as if it's something they do every day. And it was worth the risk, it’s worth it, it’s so worth it. Sapnap carries on, continuing to tell Karl he’s starting to think he needs to actually practice for the manhunts. 

With Sapnap’s palm pressed into his and their fingers interlocked, Karl Jacobs is starting to understand just how deep he’s in. Every time he thinks he’s reached the bottom, he goes further. Or higher. It’s just more, that’s all he knows. Jesus.

When they get back to the house after another meal and a trip to the mall, Karl realizes he’s confused. He knows where his feelings are—they’ve tortured him for months. And they held hands today. So what’s happening? Did he miss a step? Does Sapnap not like him back? He knows he sounds like a third grader at this point, but honestly, who cares. He just wants to date his best friend. Who is typically hundreds of miles away. Who he didn’t even know he had a chance with until twelve hours ago. He's getting frustrated that this isn't simpler. 

He can feel the anxiety settle slowly into his tired bones, replacing the optimism from that morning. What if the hand holding was just to be nice? Just so that Karl doesn’t face rejection? Sapnap isn’t a liar, but he isn’t rude. Karl flops onto his bed and thinks, _where the fuck is the line?_

A knock at the door interrupts his spiral. 

Opening it, Sapnap is standing there. He has a hoodie and plaid pajama pants on. Karl is nearing the end of his rope.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I think we need to talk a little.”

Sapnap doesn’t say it too seriously, but Karl can almost feel his world collapsing around him. Because Sapnap is honest and good, and he’s found Karl out, and he’s going to sweetly reject him in that slight Southern accent that makes Karl melt. And it’s going to hurt so _badly_. 

So he says, “Yeah, sure. Come on in.”

And now they’re in his bedroom together, which is just stupid of Karl in general. 

A small smile settles into Sapnap’s face as he steps in the room, and Karl braces himself for the worst. He’s not sure what they’ll do when this goes to shit—their stay together is supposed to be three more days—but he’s sure he could get the flight rearranged if needed. Or he can just, you know, leave this dimension and never return. 

He knows he looks afraid and awkward, but he can’t manage that right now, so averts his eyes all together. 

“Karl, it's okay. Always will be.”

Hearing this, Karl looks to him. Sapnap is closer than he thought. His eyes are inviting and hopeful, and he’s flushed, as always, pink dancing along his cheeks. His dark hair frames his face quite beautifully, and if Karl was ever asked, he might even say that. 

He’s impossibly soft and impossibly open. 

Karl wants to kiss him.

Sapnap has made him brave, he reminds himself, so he might as well. Nothing to lose. 

So, he takes a step, leans down and closes the gap. 

It’s better than anything he could imagine. Sapnap’s mouth is soft and warm, and his skin is scratchy with stubble that Karl is thankful to be close enough to feel. He feels Sapnap’s hands reach up to hold his face, and he thinks in this moment, the universe is looking out for him. 

Because he’s kissing Sapnap, and Sapnap is kissing _back_.

They pull apart after a moment, and a laugh breaks out in between them.

“Karl Jacobs, you got a real different definition of talking than I do.”

“Are you mad about it?” Karl whispers in between them, softer than the other man, words soaked with adoration.

“Couldn’t be if I tried.”

  
  


**_It seems unforgiving when a good thing ends,_ **

It’s their last night together now, and they’re curled up in Karl’s bed. Karl’s head is resting on Sapnap’s chest, rising up and down with every breath the other takes in. 

The past days have been filled with so much affection, so much love, that Karl didn’t ever think was possible. Jesus.

Yet everything is entirely the same. Sapnap still walks around in socks singing, Karl still fidgets with his rings when he gets worked up. They fall asleep together now, though, in the same bed instead of miles apart. 

Karl is going to miss this intensely, but he’s trying so very hard not to think of that right now. 

Sapnap hums quietly, running his fingers through the other’s hair.

Karl shifts to glance up at him.

“Where’s your head, baby?” Sapnap asks softly. _Baby_. He's not used to that one yet.

“Right on your chest, dumbass. Can’t believe you didn’t notice it,” Karl replies, fondness taking any heat out of his words.

Sapnap scoffs. “You know what I meant, _dumbass_.”

“Oh, I’m not ‘baby’ anymore?”

“Not if you keep this stupid shit up.”

Karl cackles, and feels laughter vibrating through Sapnap as well. 

When they’ve calmed down, Sapnap starts to twist his fingers into Karl’s hair again.

“I’m serious, though,” he says, “what are you thinking ‘bout?”

Karl sighs. The truth is embarrassing, but Sapnap is here, holding him. So he can’t hold anything back.

“I’m thinking about if we’re different, anywhere else.”

Sapnap quiets at this, only for a moment. Then: “What do you mean?”

Karl relaxes into the other man even more. “I’m not sure. I was thinking about how lucky we are, you know? And I’m wondering if we’re different anywhere else. If in a different lifetime, or universe or something, if we’re together, like this, still.”

It’s more than he means to say. It’s only been a couple of days. Sapnap doesn’t seem to mind, and Karl loves him.

He loves him even more when he replies:

“Yeah, we are. Maybe not the same, but we find each other, I think. Too lucky to not. But I think, yeah, if there’s somewhere else I could find you, Jacobs, I would.”

Karl pulls himself closer to Sapnap, and prays to the high heavens that tomorrow never comes.

  
  


**_But you and I will always be back then,_ **

Karl doesn’t know it, of course, but his little comment about them finding each other holds a little bit of weight in the universe.

Because somewhere in the space-time continuum, a version of himself meets a version of Sapnap at a masquerade ball. (“What’s your name again?” “I’m James.”)

Somewhere else, they meet again in the wild west, as enemies, but with a hint of something more when they lock eyes. (“I’m going to shoot you right in between those beautiful eyes.”)

Somewhere else, a man named Isaac hears stories of Sapnap from a time long passed. His soul aches a little, in this universe. (“Sapnap, he was a fearsome warrior.”)

In one particular universe, Karl is able to move between them all. They’ve been through a lot, this particular Karl and Sapnap. They’ve seen countries rise and fall, and been a part of wars. Sapnap has set forests ablaze, and Karl has twisted his way through every conflict. They’re tired, these two versions of them. But they’re together, at the end of the day. Always together. This Karl is worried he’ll forget Sapnap along the way; the path he’s on is rather unforgiving. Sapnap doesn’t know exactly why Karl shifts more in his sleep now or why he runs away to a locked room, but he trusts Karl through and through. 

And he knows it’s okay. Always will be.

Because this Sapnap would die for him, kill for him, _live_ for him. There is devotion embedded in his bones for this man that the universe itself cannot hope to touch.

So yes, Karl, your love spans across the planes of time and space.

It always brings you home to each other, one way or another, again and again. 

**_Yes, you and I will always be best friends._ **

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> if you guys have comments, let me know! its my first time writing anything like this, so just be nice if you're leaving something constructive. 
> 
> have a good day, and thanks again :o !!


End file.
